No place like home
by Quezacolt
Summary: It was his mission to bring Atlantis to it’s knees, to save it for the Wraith. And he was going to do this by going for one person. The one person who’s death would make Atlantis crumble. Elizabeth Weir.
1. Chapter 1

Title: No place like home

Summary: It was his mission to bring Atlantis to it's knees, to save it for the Wraith. And he was going to do this by going for one person. The one person who's death would make Atlantis crumble. Elizabeth Weir.

Spoilers: None that I know of.

* * *

John stared in numb shock at the figure lying across the floor, mere inches from his feet. Her brown hair had splayed across her face, but John could easily see the small pool of blood spread underneath her. He wasn't sure if she was unconscious or dead, either way, all John could do was stare, frozen in complete shock. How had this begun? How had he ended this story, staring at Elizabeth Weir's motionless body, unable to react? It was simple. He had put her in this position with his carelessness. It was all his fault.

* * *

The halls we're dark and quiet, mysterious but still with that trembling sense of lurking evil as a single figure walked quietly along the halls, flanked by two larger, more vicious soldiers. Screams of the tormented filled his ears and he shuddered, trying to ignore the pounding of his heart.

He was injured, not life threateningly, but still enough to make him weak, his feet collapsing as the soldiers took up his weight, his feet dragging behind them leaving a trail on the blood covered floor. He was pulled roughly into a large hall, a figure shrouded by darkness standing just out of his sight, intimidating and cold.

He was let go roughly, falling to his knees with a loud thud that echoed through the room as the soldiers retreated the Wraith stepped from the shadows.

"Well, Well, if it isn't my little failure of a human." Came the hiss of it's voice, sounding more reptilian then you would expect from it's almost human appearance. The collapsed figure bowed his head in servitude, shivering from fear.

"P-P-Please…forgive me….please…" Was all he managed to stutter, his fingers clenching as a clawed hand raised his chin, his eyes locking with that of the monster above him.

"You failed us." It's cold voice announced. The figure trembled. "But it what we get for using pitiful humans. Perhaps you will be of better use to us as food." The man cowered under the wrath of the female Wraith, before his silence broke and he cried out various begs for forgiveness.

"Please…" He begged, "Please, I'll do anything. I will not fail you again. You have my word."

The captor looked down at it's prey, cocking it's head slightly to the side.

"Yes, I do. This mission to control Atlantis must be taken care of. It is important beyond all we do here. You on the other hand, are not."

With a scream, the Wraith lowered it's hand into the man's chest, and the man himself sunk into darkness.

* * *

Elizabeth Weir sighed, rubbing her temples slightly, trying to eradicate the headache that had grown in the past few hours. The sun had lowered beyond the mainland several hours ago, throwing Atlantis into the darkness of night, most of the staff vanishing for a well earned rest and sound sleep. Elizabeth on the other had hadn't been brave enough to face the cold desolation of her quarters, preferring to indulge in her work for the night rather then spend it tossing an turning, trying to sleep when her mind refused to shut down.

The silence was deafening, the tap of her laptop keys only infuriating her the point where she dug around her office for a biro and note-pad. But the problem continued, her hand absently tapping the end of the pen against the desk, the necessitate taps making her realize only how annoying silence could be.

Reports lay begging to be finished, but Elizabeth was far from the mind frame needed to complete them, that would require actual thought, something she seemed to be devoid of at this very moment as she feverishly tried to find something to do. Her mind seemed oddly detached before she finally realised she was most likely better off doing something useful such as going for a walk on the east pier. She left her work behind her, realizing quickly the absence of any emergencies had most likely accounted for her feeling of restlessness and jogged past the control room out into the halls. She was just stepping into the transporter when a figure jumped through the closing doors, clearly relieved to have made it before having to wait for another one to return.

"Well, fancy seeing you here." Sheppard said smartly. Elizabeth sighed, pressing her desired location on the map.

"Colonel. What are you doing up?"

John stretched.

"Felt like a walk. I see you feel like one too, east pier is it?"

Elizabeth nodded, her eye brow raising.

"Yes. Do you have a problem with that?"

Sheppard raised his hands in mock surrender.

"No, No problem. You shouldn't go walking around Atlantis on your own you know. I heard stories."

Elizabeth stepped out as the doors slid open, turning slightly as John fell into step beside her.

"Stories?" She asked in a mock awed voice. John grinned.

"Yeah. Granshaw, you know the guy with the bad acne? Well, he told Captain Roche who told Lt. Markham, who mentioned it to the scientist McKay never forgave for eating the last strawberry donut, Brody, who in turn told the botanist…George is it? Who wrote it on the notice board, which was read by…Sergeant Bates, who reprimanded George, who laughed about it with Brody, who stole Bates' pants when he was in the shower, who was seen pant-less by McKay, who told Zelenka, who over-heard Bates telling off George, who came to me to tell me he had been unfairly reprimanded." He sucked in a deep breath. Elizabeth shook her head slightly, trying to clear it out.

"What?" Was all she managed to ask. "What does this have to do with the story? And how did you find out the story? And wait a minute – What is the story?"

John grinned again.

"Well, who do you think told Granshaw in the first place?"

Elizabeth shook her head, her hands gripping her ears.

"And the point of that long confusing list of people was…?"

John shrugged.

"I felt like being different." He walked slightly faster, as Elizabeth fell behind. He was several meters ahead before she realised she had been duped.

"Wait a minute, Colonel!" She called out as he turned and smiled, "You never told me the story!" He shrugged.

"Oh well, I've forgotten it now. You know how these things work. Race you to the pier?"

She let out a series of curses in a language quite unknown to John Sheppard as he walked backwards, attempting to look cocky and cool at the same particular moment, instead only succeeding to fall backwards and land with a heavy thump on his back, legs slightly in the air.

Elizabeth held back a giggle, watching him flip over onto his feet and shaking himself off slightly.

"Ouch." He murmured, rubbing his back, "I'm too old for this…"

Elizabeth walked past him, a smile on her face, trying unsuccessfully to hold back laughter.

"Well, Colonel, I must say, don't quit your day job."

He looked up, amusement in his own eyes, falling back into step with her as they approached the pier, the waters warm and calm.

"So," He asked, sitting down at the very end, his shoes and socks ripped off in haste so his feet could dangle in the water. "Why are you really up this late?" He had suddenly switched to serious, as Elizabeth followed suit in pulling off her shoes and socks, taking more care as she lowered her feet off the edge.

"The lack of emergencies has thrown my sleeping patterns off." She said slightly tiredly.

John rubbed her shoulder slightly.

"Yeah. It does make it hard."

Elizabeth turned to look at him, an eyebrow raised.

"What about you?"

He sighed.

"Turkey Sandwich withdrawal. I haven't had any all week. The cook said the numbers of people eating them went down so they we're forced to stop ordering them." He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.

Elizabeth cocked her head to the side.

"Well," She said quickly, realizing it wasn't the real reason but not wanting to press him, "I'm sure I can have a few words with the cook and make sure a few are sent over every week…enough for the people that want them. It's the least I could do after their contributions to Atlantis." John visibly perked up.

"Really? That's cool! I would have been forced to leave if I faced a future without them…"

He grinned at her, and for a moment, Elizabeth felt her world brighten. But just for a moment.

The crackling of a speaker broke their moment like a mirror into a million pieces as John sighed, turning to look at the ocean as he clicked on his speaker.

"_Major_." Came McKay's voice, "_Have you seen Elizabeth? We can't seem to find her and she doesn't have her radio with her_."

Sheppard side glanced her.

"Colonel." He said slightly cockily. Elizabeth smiled, looking away.

"_What_?"

"Colonel."

"_Oh. Yes, whatever. Have you seen Elizabeth or not_?"

John grinned mischievously and Elizabeth suddenly wished the moment wouldn't end.

"What's the magic word, Rodney?" He asked, obviously enjoying the other man's discomfort.

"_Fine. FINE. Please. Can I PLEASE speak to Elizabeth now_?"

John looked down at his nails.

"I haven't seen her." There was something sounding remarkably like a splutter on the other end of the line.

"_You put me through all that and you don't even know where she is? Of all the self centered, egotis_-" John grinned, handing the microphone to Elizabeth, who placed it in her ear, cutting off Rodney's ramblings before they became to rude.

"Rodney." She said, quickly in her professional voice as John gently moved his feet in the water.

"_Elizabeth? How did- Oh never mind. We have a slight situation here. Carson says we need you in the control room. ASAP._" Elizabeth smiled as John made motions with his hands of casting out a fishing line.

"I'm on my way Rodney."

She handed back the microphone, a smile still gracing her features as John scrambled up and offered her his hand.

"Thanks," She said quickly, slipping on her socks and shoes as John followed suit. They walked back to Atlantis together, arriving back in the control room to find McKay, Carson and Cadman all looking very somber.

"What's going on?" She asked, looking at each face. Carson looked at her and sighed.

"There's been a murder on Atlantis."

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

No place like home

(PART TWO)

* * *

Summary: It was his mission to bring Atlantis to it's knees, to save it for the Wraith. And he was going to do this by going for one person. The one person who's death would make Atlantis crumble. Elizabeth Weir.

* * *

Previously: 

"Thanks," She said quickly, slipping on her socks and shoes as John followed suit. They walked back to Atlantis together, arriving back in the control room to find McKay, Carson and Cadman all looking very somber.

"What's going on?" She asked, looking at each face. Carson looked at her and sighed.

"There's been a murder on Atlantis."

* * *

The charismatic young man straightened his clothing, his long brown hair falling over his eyes as he brushed it away, walking through the halls of Atlantis a slight bounce in his step. This place was new, his predecessor had tried and failed to be the inner thorn in the humans side, but he would not fail. It was his mission to bring Atlantis to it's knees, to save it for the Wraith. And he was going to do this by going for one person. The one person who's death would make Atlantis crumble. Elizabeth Weir.

* * *

Elizabeth frowned, the figure at her side shifting slightly, uncomfortable as the white cloth in front of them was pulled, revealing a pale body. Elizabeth winced, as did the others around her, as the cloth was pulled back over to cover the body torn asunder. She looked up at Carson, eyes cold and shielded. 

"What happened Carson?"

Beckett in turn, sighed.

"He was found about an hour ago, floating by the northern towers of Atlantis. Rodney was doing his daily perimeter scan when the lad was found. Looks like he was killed with a knife or sharp implement and thrown over one of the many balcony railings."

"Any chance we could have another wraith in the city?" Elizabeth asked, blood pumping cold at the very thought. Carson shook his head.

"I thought of that, but there are signs of struggle here, like fingernail marks. It was a human who did this."

That news made her blood run colder.

"Are you saying," John said, his voice emotionless, "One of us could be a murderer?"

Carson sighed, rubbing his hand across his face, black rings around his eyes.

"It's exactly what I'm saying. Someone here killed this man. And we have to find out who."

Elizabeth nodded, turning to look at her flagship team, in appearance, all somber, determination lining their features. Elizabeth had never been prouder.

"Rodney, we need to suspend all gate travel immediately. And have someone account for all the puddle jumpers. I want them guarded. If this murderer is still on Atlantis, I doubt he's going to want to stay here longer then he has to. Carson, Autopsy as soon as you can. I want to know exactly what we're dealing with here."

"Aye lass."

She sighed, a tired sigh as her headache slowly increased in volume, before turning to the others.

"Colonel, I need you to take a team and sweep the base, just in case. Look for the usual Wraith sabotage. Ronan can accompany you. Teyla, I need everyone restricted to their quarters until the search is complete. We'll need to interview everyone and find out who doesn't have a sound story to account for their movements at the time of the murder."

"What are you going to say?" John asked, as Elizabeth motioned for his earpiece.

"Everyone has a right to the truth." Elizabeth answered, sighing again.

As the group turned and walked to their respective jobs, John turned back, a small smile on his face.

"Well, you got your emergency." He said in a slightly dead voice. Elizabeth nodded slightly, taking a few steps from the room as she connected the microphone, before turning back to Carson, a slight frown on her face.

"Carson," She asked, crossing her arms in front of her, "What was his name?"

Beckett looked at the covered body before sighing, looking back up at the leader.

"Mason. Victor Mason. He was a geneticist."

* * *

Lorne blinked, trying to work the sleep from his eyes as he shifted slightly, the P90 in his arms unusually uncomfortable, reminding him he was tired. Doctor Weir's announcement had woken him up from his slumber and after returning just four hours before from a mission off-world, his eyes drooped as he fought to stay conscious. 

Footsteps alerted him to someone nearing and he wrenched open his eyes, it was his job to guard the Puddle Jumpers with three other men, one at each entrance and one inside. He watched suspiciously, P90 raised slightly, as a man walked toward him, slowing and finally coming to an abrupt stop.

"What the hell is going on?" The man asked, rubbing his arm slightly as if he had been bitten.

"Security Protocol sir." Lorne answered immediately. "Please return to your quarters until further notice."

The man frowned slightly.

"Why? What happened?"

Lorne rolled his eyes. _Scientists. _

"Sir. It has to do with something I'm not at liberty to divulge. Please, return to your quarters willingly or face a long night staying in the brig."

The man nodded absently.

"Sure thing." He walked away in the general direction of the quarters as Lorne frowned. The man must be new, Lorne hadn't seen him before. Shrugging he went back to guarding the door, unbeknownst to him, the young man walked away with a smile on his face, evil and cruel all rolled into one blood-chilling grin.

* * *

The search teams had returned from their hunt none the wiser, reporting to Elizabeth the apparent lack of not only possible sabotage, but explosive devices and/or Wraith. Elizabeth had only nodded mutely, her headache fully blown now as she discreetly swallowed a few Advil she always kept hidden in her draw and sighed. 

"Elizabeth?" Came John's voice, standing in her darkened office doorway and looking at her in concern as she furiously scrubbed a hand across her forehead.

Not hearing him, she was surprised when an unexpected hand rested quickly on her shoulder as she jumped, spinning around to see his sheepish smile.

"Sorry." He said quickly, backing up a step and sitting on the corner of her desk. "I just dropped by to see how you're doing." Elizabeth frowned, defensive.

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

He shook his head slightly.

"I'm not saying you aren't. But all this has to make a person stressed…"

She nodded slightly.

"I'll be fine." She repeated the same sentence again at his disbelieving look. "I said, I'll be fine. I don't need a babysitter."

John shook his head slightly.

"If I hadn't seen you stay up for four days straight without sleep, I would swear you were tired." Elizabeth smiled wanly.

"Yes, well, the city never sleeps."

"But you need to." John answered, concerned. Elizabeth nodded.

"I will. Once we find out who the murderer is. I don't think I could sleep even if I tried. To think anyone of us could be a murderer…"

John smiled sadly.

"Nearly all of us have killed someone Liz. It's not a secret."

Elizabeth stared at him for a long second.

"Yes. But this is different."

John nodded.

"Yeah, it is." He suddenly looked determined, pulling her from the chair, his face clearly concerned. Elizabeth fought for a second, before letting herself be pulled out into the control room. "Dinner." He said quickly to her questioning look, "I insist."

Knowing how stubborn he could be, she rolled her eyes, which he took as a yes, pulling her into the halls. They had made it half way before loud voices caused John's hand to slide to the gun holster on his leg, pulling Elizabeth behind him as they slowly approached an open doorway, John poking his head around the doorframe. Elizabeth, slightly worried, automatically relaxed when she felt beneath her hand (she was resting one of her hands against John's back, the other tightly being held in his own hand) his back muscles relaxing, and she knew then it was nothing serious. She watched him slip the gun back into the holster and turn to look at her, pulling her beside him so she could hear and see inside the lab too.

"Oh god. What do I do? I'm a bloody dead man." Elizabeth frowned at Rodney's voice, shuffling slightly closer to listen more clearly, seeing John's smirk and feeling her interest pique.

"Rodney…" Came Kate Heightmeyer's voice, the psychiatrist sounding unusually annoyed, "It's not your fault."

"Oh yeah?" Rodney screeched, "Hey, Hey, your right! Your right! This is all Carson's fault! If he hadn't have had to go to the mainland, he would've realised not to leave this…this THING in my care! I'm way to busy to look after a-a-a ball of furry monstrosity! How does he expect to keep this city afloat AND look after this…thing?"

John sniggered slightly, stuffing his fist in his mouth to stifle the sound.

"We just have to find him before Carson gets back from the mainland. That's all."

"Oh, FANTASTIC." Came Rodney's voice, now clearly annoyed. "Not only do I have to spend the rest of the afternoon looking for that infernal bundle of diseases, but if Elizabeth hears we lost a bloody mouse in Atlantis, she'll lose her head. Do you know how fast those things breed? There are probably hundreds of them already."

Kate sighed as Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. Since when has she ever 'lost her head' with anyone? Except for that time John threatened her control on Atlantis. And when Rodney blew up a solar system. And…okay, but a mouse? She wouldn't lost her head over a mouse.

"I'm sure there has to be a female for that to happen Rodney."

"_Well_, I'm sure that abomination to animals everywhere has already broken into the lab rat room and kidnapped a wife."

"Do you have this aversion to all animals, or is it just this mouse?" John could hear McKay scoff.

"I was quite happy with my cat thank you. They're solitary, less work then dogs. They're friendly, they eat whatever your eating, they sleep ninety percent of the time. They don't slobber on your brand new furniture, they don't cling to you and they don't eat cheese. And that's just the start."

Elizabeth shook her head slightly, turning to John and pulling him up, purposely walking into the lab, to find Rodney glaring in the crack between a cabinet and the floor, and Kate peering into a box sitting on the desk. They both looked up as Elizabeth and John sauntered into the room, neither showing any sign they had just eavesdropped onto the entire conversation.

"Elizabeth. Sheppard." Rodney said in greeting, climbing from the floor and onto his stool. "I dropped a pen down there somewhere." He said dismissively to Elizabeth's raised eyebrow.

Kate nodded and smiled, looking at Rodney slightly.

"What's going on?" John asked, picking up a small device off Rodney's desk and looking at it, only to have it snatched away by Rodney.

"Important work." Rodney said quickly and sharply, now if you wouldn't mind…"

"I don't." John said, grinning, throwing himself onto a spare chair and twirling himself around. Elizabeth smiled slightly, as Rodney sighed.

"Fine. But It's all boring. I'm trying to work out how to lower the energy output for the shields so we can attach the Naquada enhanced generator, raising the compatibility ratio and chances of protecting ourselves from the next Wraith attack." Rodney said importantly, shuffling several papers.

"Point five thousand, dash eight, A, squared, negative C seventeen."

Rodney stared at John.

"What?"

John pointed to one of the complex equations on the page.

"The answer is negative five thousand,eight hundred, bracket A, six squared, end bracket C seventeen."

Rodney, frowning in suspicion, looked at the equations for a long minute, before glaring and scribbling down the new answer.

"Yes, yes, Very good. Now, I have to go…eh…um…finish…some…aspect ratios. Yes. See yourselves out." He vanished quickly, but not after throwing Kate a look which clearly read 'Your not getting out of this'. Kate sighed, and looked to the two leaders.

"Rodney is going to complain if I don't help him. Was there anything else you needed?"

Elizabeth smiled.

"That was it. We just came by for a social call. You can go, before Rodney get's grouchy."

Kate smiled her thanks before following in the direction McKay had gone.

"Well," John said quickly, clapping his hands together, "Dinner. I don't know about you, but coffee would do me well right about now." Elizabeth nodded, taking once last glance at the lab, with a brief through to whether the mouse would indeed find some way top infest Atlantis with it's offspring, before shrugging, following John into the hall and toward the commisionary.

* * *

TBC

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

No Place like Home

Chapter Three

A/N: Two bad days in a row. What are the chances of a third? Thanks for your patience guys – I'm still working on updating all of the fic's I've left unfinished.

* * *

"You don't see the connection? How can you not see the connection?"

Elizabeth smiled slightly, watching John try to explain his point to the small crowd which had gathered, all joining them at their table.

"It was nothing like the Stargate." Elizabeth interjected, looking in amusement as he looked outraged.

"Come on. You can't tell me wormhole x-treme wasn't a take off."

"It was a take off." Rodney said quickly, picking the hundred thousands off his strawberry donut, "But it was a flop. Cancelled after six episodes. Kavanagh is obsessed with it. He had a signed box set he got at a convention, he spouted off to everyone in the labs about how it showed how the Stargate should be handled. I think he had a thing for the guy impersonating O'Neill. And I know he brought the X-treme uniform to Atlantis when he first came. Although, if I can say for a minute, the woman impersonating Samantha Carter – a personal friend of mine – is nothing like her. Carter – I've always had a thing for the stereotypical dumb blonde-"

Elizabeth coughed slightly as Rodney stuttered to a halt, everyone around the table sporting smirks.

"Well, I've had fun. But I have some reports to finish, so I'll bid you all goodnight." Elizabeth said with a smile, climbing from her chair to her feet as John followed suit.

"I'll walk you to your quarters." He interjected at her questioning raised eyebrow. He smiled at the people gathered around the table and followed Elizabeth out as Rodney leaned forward amidst the group.

"Who's day was it today?" He asked quickly, as Carson, glancing at the doorway the leaders had just left through, pulled out a small black book and flipped through the pages.

"Uh, Jenson and Everard."

"How much money is in the pool?" Cadman asked, leaning over his shoulder. Carson smiled at her.

"One thousand, six hundred and forty two dollars."

"Well," Rodney said cockily, pulling a few notes from his pocket, "put me down for a hundred for today. There's no way that by the end of tonight, they won't end up sleeping together."

"Is it right to be betting on what day they get together?" Kate asked, a frown on her face.

Rodney scoffed.

"It's commerce. Anyway, no harm to foul."

"You mean no harm," Zelenka added in, "Unless Elizabeth and Sheppard find out what we have going. Then they will kill us all."

There were anxious murmurs among the crowd as Rodney snorted loudly.

"Oh come on. They won't find out unless someone blabs. And without Kavanagh here, what are the chances of that?" People began to shrug. "Exactly," McKay continued, "Now, back to business. I understand someone here is in the business of selling chocolate bars…"

* * *

John scuffed his feet slightly as he stood outside Elizabeth's quarters, Elizabeth herself leaning in the doorframe.

"Well…thanks for walking me back. Although I don't know what you felt you had to protect me from."

"Well," John said nervously, "You never know these days."

Elizabeth smiled fondly.

"Thanks John."

John smiled slightly.

"No problem. I'll be your bodyguard any day." Suddenly realised how it sounded, John's face paled. "Uh, I mean, uh, um…"

Elizabeth rested her hand on his arm.

"John, it's alright."

He smiled sheepishly.

"Well then, goodnight."

Elizabeth smiled, almost fondly.

"Goodnight."

As the door slid shut John let out a sigh, leaning back against the door, unaware on the inside, Elizabeth was doing the same.

* * *

The next morning dawned bright and cold as John pulled himself together, walking from his quarters to the control room wearing two shirts and thick jumper. Rodney had some how managed to shut down the heating system and had spent the night trying to repair it, but as a result, had only managed to get the Atlantis version of an air cooler stuck on freezing. The windows had been coated over in ice and every breath taken resulted in white mist.

John shivered, walking into Elizabeth's office to find her in a coat so thick it made her look vastly like a seal and thick woolen mittens on her hands as she tried to type in the small delicate buttons on her laptop.

"Morning." John said quickly, sitting down in the chair opposite her and tapping his slightly blue fingers against the desk. "How goes Rodney's repairs?"

Elizabeth shook her head slightly.

"He assures me he'll have it fixed in a few hours, but as a result of his fiddling, we have malfunctions all over he city. He insists it's nothing but the cafeteria is sealed and the balcony doors are locked."

"No one stuck there I hope. Although being locked outside would be warmer then being in here."

Elizabeth chuckled.

"Yes, well, luckily no one was particularly hungry when the doors to the cafeteria locked. We did a head count on the bio-sensors, no one is in any danger. However, I did sent all of the non essential personnel in the puddle jumpers to the mainland, I figure it has a be warmer over there then here."

"I'm going to kill Rodney once he fixes this." John said through chattering teeth. Elizabeth smiled.

"Yes well, apparently some people confronted him already, found a secret stash of chocolate he had been squirreling away. They took it all apparently. He was quite distressed."

John smiled.

"He deserves it."

Elizabeth shrugged, eyes twinkling.

"Yes, well, all I know is I'm freezing, even in this jacket."

John raised an eyebrow.

"Well then, I think it's time we do something about it. Are you doing anything besides freezing your mittens off?"

She cocked her head to the side and answered.

"Not really. There's nothing I can do unless the heat is put back on."

John grinned.

"Excellent." Getting up and walking from the room, he grinned. Before stopping and poking his head back in the doorframe to meet her confused gaze.

"I'll pick you up at six." He warned, "Don't get busy before then."

He backed from the room, various thoughts running through his mind. He had to work fast.

* * *

Elizabeth had just begun to drop into an uncomfortable nap at her desk when John Sheppard poked his head once more into her office, making her wrench open her eyes as his amused expression.

"What?" She asked, as he nodded his head in indication she should follow him to their 'date'.

"Nothing." He answered quickly. Just a little too quickly for her taste. She smiled slightly as he led her to one of the now many media rooms, stopping with him as he opened the door. As she moved to peer around him be blocked her, grabbing her hand and using it to cover her eyes.

"No peeking." He warned quickly. She obliged, more out of curiosity as he led her into the room. When he ducked down her head she was confused, until he pulled her hand away and she gasped. He had set up a tent around the television, in it filled with pillows and large blankets as Elizabeth smiled.

"This is brilliant." She whispered as he pulled from under the covers a cigar box filled with candy.

"You're the one who took all the candy from Rodney!" She accused, a smile hinting her voice. John looked at her, a mock outraged expression on his face.

"You can't prove anything."

Shivering slightly (it was still freezing) Elizabeth bunched her hands together and John, noticing, quickly ordered her to lose the polar jacket and wrapped several blankets around her shoulders.

She smiled in gratitude as he played "A nightmare on Elm Street" but it wasn't long before John noticed Elizabeth had fallen asleep halfway through the movie, curled up with her head in his lap and her arms wrapped around a stray pillow, he smiled fondly down at the expedition leader slept, watching the end of the movie before pulling her into his arms and carrying her back to her quarters, adding a few extra blankets to keep her warm as he returned to clean up the mess in the media room. As he tucked his head into the pillow well past midnight, he couldn't help the smile that drifted onto his face, as he drifted out.

* * *

The young man stretched, slinking around the halls of Atlantis un-noticed by all. He was no more then a shadow, as he had been trained by his human leaders among the Wraith. He had to finish this mission with success, or else 'home' would not be worth returning to. Feeling the chill seep through his thin clothing, he spared a quite thought to the impudence of the scientist who could not figure out that sabotage had been the result of the malfunctions among the city as he tried to repair the temperature unit that had also been sabotaged by the young man himself. It was time for his plan to come into fruitation. By tomorrow morning, another body would be found in the halls of Atlantis. Their leader. Elizabeth Weir. Slinking back into the shadows, he began his long wait.

To be Continued…(only one chapter to go!)


	4. Chapter 4

No place like home

Chapter Four

* * *

A/N: It's the final chapter! It's been a great journey, thank you all.

* * *

When Elizabeth woke the next morning, eyes opening as a content sigh escaped her, her arm moving to look for the warm body she expected to be next to her. When she couldn't find the unexpected source of warmth, and her memories quickly came flooding back, she sat up, realizing she must have fallen asleep on John as they watched the movie. Feeling guilty, she recognized the extra blankets as the ones from the tent and quickly got up to get dressed, noticing the chill still drifted in Atlantis like a bad fog. Damn McKay.

Walking from her quarters twenty minutes later, she began her journey, surprised to meet John Sheppard exiting his own quarters, only a hallway away from her own.

"John." She said warmly, as he smiled at her.

"Sleep well?" Was all he asked, walking with her own their way to the control room.

"Very. I'm sorry about last night."

"Don't be." He said quickly, surprising her, "I'm just glad you got some much needed rest. You really need to keep better sleeping and eating patterns Elizabeth."

She smiled at his caring tone.

"I'll be fine. Thanks John, the movie, for what I saw, was quite enjoyable."

He grinned, as he rubbed his arms slightly.

"God, McKay said he would have this fixed by now."

"I know, "Elizabeth countered, "I'm going to confront him later."

As they approached the end of the particular corridor where usually they would take the transporter to the control room, the doors began sliding shut on their own accord, cutting them effectively off.

John dived for the still closing door, Elizabeth close on his heels, but the door closed before he reached it, only resulting in his head slamming against the hard metal. Elizabeth grabbed his arm as he shook it off, walking back and forward again, trying to get the door to open. It wouldn't budge. Sealed in a space barely four foot square, John barely had time to blink, as from behind him, in the shadows, a figure emerged and with a quick flick, knocked John into unconsciousness with a wraith stunner.

"Elizabeth Weir." He said coldly, his eyes dead as Elizabeth, shocked, kneeled next to John's prone body. "I don't believe we've met."

Elizabeth glared at him with her best intimidation stare. He looked on unaffected.

"What do you want?" She asked coldly, eyeing the stunner. The man chucked, but it was as if his voice was hollow.

"Don't worry, what is it Sheppard calls you? 'Lizabeth? I just want to see you die. I want the light to fade from your eyes. I want to see your mangled body and know I'm the one who killed you. I just want to hand Atlantis over to the Wraith on a silver platter."

* * *

Elizabeth glared at the pacing figure several minutes later, her hands tied behind her back, her only reassurance John who was tied in a similar fashion behind her, his hands pressed against hers and the faint thump of his pulse pushing at her fingertips.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked, watching him lay out several grenades and explosive equipment. He looked at her with a smile.

"You know why. The Wraith are my leaders. It was my mission to take a place in Atlantis and destroy its leadership from the inside. The Wraith will come here at my signal that your people are at it's weakest and cannot fight them back. At that point the Wraith will use the Stargate to go through to your planet and to a rich new feeding ground. And you all will be punished for your insolence."

Elizabeth shook her head.

"We are your people. Not them. You originated on our planet, Earth. All human life did. And now you're condemning your own people to death."

"The Wraith are my people," He hissed, taking a threatening step forward, his eyes glittering with malice, "they will reward me beyond my wildest dreams when I return to report everything has been taken care of."

"They look at you and all they see is food." Elizabeth snarled, her hands working furiously to undo the knots behind her.

_John. Please wake up. God John, please, please…please…_

The man smiled.

"I am not your concern Doctor. Soon you will be dead and I will be gone."

"Don't count on it." She hissed under her breath, the ropes cutting into her hands. The man smiled, approaching her.

"Well, we'll see." And raising his hand, it was all Elizabeth saw before she fell into darkness.

* * *

When John awoke, he realised three things.

1). He was tied up.

2). Elizabeth was tied up behind him, her head resting on his shoulder and

3). A man was approaching them, handgun in hand.

"You're the one who murdered the geneticist." John accused immediately, recognizing the man's manic grin. The stranger nodded slightly and John knew he didn't belong on Atlantis, no matter the uniform.

"What do you want?" John asked coldly. The man shrugged.

"To see Elizabeth dead actually. You John Sheppard, if you hadn't have gotten in the way, you might have been spared. But I guess now, your just gravy."

John looked on coldly as he cocked the gun.

"Do you want to call for help?" The man asked, not looking up. "Cry out for your friends? Here." Walking over and inserting the radio in John's ear, he pressed the speak button and watched John watch him suspiciously.

"This is Colonel John Sheppard." John said quickly incase the maniac changed his mind, "Doctor Weir and I have been taken hostage. I repeat. In the sealed off corridor outside our quarters. Send a security team-" He was cut off as the man pulled away the radio and crushed it in his hand.

"Excellent. By the time they get in here, you'll be dead and I will have stolen a 'puddle jumper' to escape. Well done Sheppard."

John stared on coldly, trying to ignore the beat of fear pumping through his veins.

His hands twirled behind him, trying to loosen the bonds confining his wrists, ignoring the cutting as they sliced his skin.

"Time to end this." The man said a minute later, packing some grenades in each corner, attached by string. He was going to kill as many people as he could. John growled slightly, stretching his hands toward the nearest string in hope of setting off the grenades and ending this, before he noticed broken glass to his side. Seeing Elizabeth's broken PDA spilling from her pocket, he thanked whatever god was listening and swiped the ropes against the glass a few times, feeling in satisfaction as the ropes split apart, freeing his hands.

Watching their kidnapper with his back to them tie the last string and pull the last pin, he stood up quietly. He had barely taken a step toward the stunner lying a meter or two behind the man before he spun around, seeing his hostage free and dive tackled him. Head inches from the volatile string that could blow the entire place asunder, the pair struggled. John threw as many punches as he received, before flipping the man over and bringing his elbow down on his neck, watching as the man slumped into unconsciousness. Leaving the man he would like nothing better to kill, he moved to Elizabeth, tipping her so her shoulders and head we're on his lap as he untied her hands and feet, tapping her cheeks slightly in an attempt to wake her.

She had a bruise across her cheek, but apart from that he was glad to see she appeared unharmed.

"Elizabeth?" He asked quietly, as her eyes cracked open slightly. She looked at him.

"Hi." Was all she croaked out. John smiled in relief.

"You know," He said quickly, "I thought we agreed not to keep scaring each other like this?"

Elizabeth shrugged half-heartedly.

"S-Sorry."

John brushed a stray hair away from her face.

"It's okay. Just don't do it again okay?"

She nodded weakly, as around them, the doors slid open and warm air pushed at their faces.

"I think I'm going to hug McKay." John said with a smile as a medic team came rushing through the doors to check them both out, soldiers arriving to drag away the unconscious villain.

"He's d-definitely going to need a pay rise." Elizabeth said with a weak smile as Carson packed her on a stretcher. John smiled fondly.

"Yeah." He kissed her on the forehead, not caring as Carson looked away before she was moved toward the infirmary, but not before a loud triumphant cheer could be heard, and McKay arrived, holding a small mouse in his hands.

"I found him!" He cheered, before seeing Carson and shutting up quickly.

"Uh…Hi Carson. How are they?"

"They'll be fine Rodney. They should get back to normal in a few days." Carson said quickly, a frown on his face, "What are you doing?"

Rodney held up the small brown mouse.

"Oh…uh…just taking your beautiful mouse for a walk. You know, the air does the body good!"

Carson frowned.

"Rodney, my mouse is white."

Rodney sounded like a strangled cat.

"Are you sure?"

Carson nodded.

"Very."

At that, Rodney threw the mice down, watching it scamper away.

"Oh god, I'm going to die from a disease…"

"Rodney," Carson interrupted, "Where's my mouse?"

Rodney coughed.

"Oh look, my hand is going red, I'm going to die! Don't you even care about my wellbeing? Look at me I'm infected!"

John smiled, his last threads to reality slipping as he fell back into the welcoming darkness on his stretcher.

* * *

"John, how are you feeling?" Elizabeth asked as John walking into her office and sat down. John smiled and shrugged.

"I'm fine. You?"

"Fine. It's good that everything has slipped back into normality."

"Yeah. Good."John looked around and Elizabeth waited for him to speak. "Did you hear what happened with Carson's mouse?"

Elizabeth shook her head.

"Turns out Radek took it. He didn't know it wasn't one of experimental ones and accidentally turned it green."

"Well," Elizabeth said smiling, "At least it will be harder to mistake for others now."

John grinned.

"So, hungry? I feel like some lunch."

Elizabeth nodded.

"Sure, these reports can wait."

She followed him to the doorway, hands brushing as they smiled at each other.

Normal? There was no such thing.

End.


End file.
